He Had a 13% Chance to Live. A Stranger Changed Everything | Tim McDonald | Raw Minds S2 Ep. 100

Stage 4 colon cancer had already spread to Tim McDonald’s liver when his life changed completely.What started as pain in his side around Thanksgiving 2020 led to the words nobody wants to hear: “You have cancer.”In this episode of Raw Minds, Tim shares his stage 4 colorectal cancer story, chemotherapy, colon cancer treatment, the search for a living liver donor, liver transplant surgery, survivor’s guilt, cancer advocacy, and the stranger who ultimately gave him part of her liver.Tim says only 13% of people with stage 4 colorectal cancer live five years after diagnosis. Instead of treating that number like the end of his story, he focused on one question: what do I need to do next?He explains how becoming one of the early colorectal cancer patients in North America to receive a liver transplant gave him more time, but surviving created a new mental battle. After watching people in the cancer community die, Tim had to figure out what to do with his second chance.That journey became a mission.Today Tim is a cancer survivor, patient advocate, speaker, community builder, and author of From Patient to Advocate: Turning Survivorship Into Impact.This conversation is about stage 4 cancer, colorectal cancer, chemotherapy, liver transplant, colon cancer screening, survivor’s guilt, grief, mental health, purpose, second chances, and turning survival into something that can help someone else.TIM McDONALDBook:From Patient to Advocate: Turning Survivorship Into ImpactAvailable on Amazon — search Tim McDonald From Patient to AdvocateWebsite / Podcast / Advocacy:https://advocacyatwork.comLinkedIn:Search Tim A. McDonaldCHAPTERS00:00 Stage 4 Cancer Changed Everything02:49 Welcome to Tim McDonald03:25 Tim’s Book and Advocacy Work04:14 Who Tim Was Before Cancer07:15 The Pain That Started Everything09:20 The CT Scan That Found Cancer09:34 Hearing “You Have Cancer”10:22 How Tim Reacted to the Diagnosis11:20 What Do I Need to Do Next?13:06 The Doctor Who Changed His Direction15:17 Learning How Serious Stage 4 Cancer Was17:11 The Emotional Roller Coaster18:36 Finding Purpose Inside Cancer21:39 Colon Cancer Screening and Colonoscopy22:48 The Reality of Chemotherapy24:16 Becoming a Colorectal Cancer Advocate25:19 What Research Advocacy Means27:17 Finding the Liver Transplant Option27:41 How a Living Donor Liver Transplant Works29:21 The 13% Five-Year Survival Reality29:52 Qualifying for a Liver Transplant30:50 Searching for a Living Donor32:43 Why Finding a Donor Was Harder Than Treatment34:39 A Stranger Becomes His Donor35:43 Meeting the Woman Who Saved His Life37:25 The Mental Battle After Transplant38:34 Survivor’s Guilt After Cancer40:29 Losing Friends in the Cancer Community40:54 Turning Their Memory Into Purpose43:20 The Fear Tim Didn’t Admit During Treatment44:15 Why Mindset Matters47:17 Tim’s Final Message47:28 Where to Find TimRAW MINDS PODCASTReal conversations about trauma, survival, mental health, grief, addiction, fatherhood, relationships, PTSD, and rebuilding.For the ones we’ll never meet.Healing out loud.Business / Guest Inquiries:rawmindspodcast@gmail.comPARENTPATHhttps://parentpath.ca/ParentPath helps self-represented parents organize family court evidence, timelines, documents, and case information.